Metropolitan Water District Fluoridation

Metropolitan Water District's (MWD) Fluoridation PlanAnaheim Began Receiving Fluoridated Water Supplies from MWD on November 19, 2007
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) joined the majority of the nation's water utilities in adding fluoride to the drinking water processed at its 5 treatment plants beginning Monday, October 29. The treatment plant that serves Orange County and the Anaheim area began fluoridating on November 19.

Anaheim Water Supply
MWD typically provides about 25% of the water supply for Anaheim. MWD water is received at 7 interconnection points in Anaheim, with the amount of water depending on consumer water demands in Anaheim and the availability of other supplies. Most areas receive some MWD water and some from Anaheim’s other sources.

MWD chose to fluoridate because the county health officers of the 6 counties where MWD provides water requested it. Among those officials are organizations that believe fluoride in the proper dosage is a benefit to dental health are:

California Dental Association

Centers for Disease Control

County health officers

State of California

Several other health organizations

Water Fluoride Level
MWD will adjust the naturally occurring fluoride level in water, which ranges from 0.1 and 0.4 parts per million (ppm), to the optimal range for dental health of 0.7 to 0.8 ppm as determined by the California Department of Public Health. Anaheim’s groundwater typically contains between 0.3 and 0.4 ppm of naturally occurring fluoride. Anaheim does not intend to fluoridate its other water supplies.

More information is available about MWD's fluoridation project on its website.